Village Shuts Down Storm-weakened 1st Street Bridge

GURNEE — The village has closed the First Street Bridge to all traffic after recent storms made it unsafe.

The bridge, on First Street, south of Grand Avenue and north of Ellis Avenue, is in one of the oldest residential areas of Gurnee, said Brad Burke, assistant to the village manager.

No date has been established for reopening the bridge.

The village hired Baxter and Woodman Consulting Engineers in Crystal Lake to evaluate the bridge after recent storms. The consultant determined that it is structurally unsound and should be closed.

"The bridge ... was installed approximately 75 years ago," Burke said.

"It was originally designed to use the creek bed as the base or floor of the structure. Age and recent rain events have caused significant erosion to the creek bed."

Burke said the integrity of the bridge has been significantly deteriorated by recent storms.

"We had two larger storm events that caused a great amount of water to go through the culvert, eroding the area around the creek bed and around the footings for the culvert," he said. "We also think it's normal wear and tear of the bridge, but it's basically antiquated engineering design."

The bridge will be replaced during the reconstruction of First Street, Blackstone Avenue and Greenleaf Street, Burke said.

"Since it's a residential area, residents will have access via other local roads," he said.

"We don't anticipate areawide traffic having difficulties because it's used by local residents."

The best alternate route may beGreenleaf Street off of Grand Avenue, Burke said.